Islamic theology (Arabic: عقيدة‎, ʿAqīdah, plural Arabic: عقائد‎, ʿaqāʾid) is a branch of Islamic studies describing the beliefs of the Islamic faith. Any religious belief system, or creed, can be considered an example of ʿaqīdah. However, this term has taken a significant technical usage in Islamic history and theology, denoting those matters over which Muslims hold conviction. Literally, the word ʿaqīdah is derived from the triconsonantal root ʿqd (ʿaqada), which means "to tie" or "knot".

Muslims enumerate their creed to include the Six articles of belief (called arkān al-īmān). There is a consensus on the elements of this creed across all spectrums as they are clearly articulated in the Qurʾān. While some Muslim groups may hold different beliefs regarding the attributes of God or the purpose of angels, there are no disputes concerning the existence of God, that he has sent his revelation via messengers, and that man will be held to account and rewarded or punished in the after life.

In the Hadith of Gabriel, the Islamic prophet Muḥammad explains, "Faith is to affirm your faith in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers and the Last Day, and to believe in the Divine Destiny whether it be good or bad."

Hamza Yusuf Hanson is an American Islamic scholar, and (with Zaid Shakir and Hatem Bazian) is co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California, United States. He is a convert to Islam, and is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding. He has described the 9/11 attacks as "an act of 'mass murder, pure and simple'". Condemning the attacks, he has also stated "Islam was hijacked ... on that plane as an innocent victim".The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom reported that he "is arguably the west's most influential Islamic scholar" and added that "many Muslims find his views hard to stomach."

Hamza Yusuf was born to two academics in Washington State and raised in Northern California. In 1977, he became Muslim and subsequently traveled to the Muslim world and studied for ten years in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, as well as North and West Africa. Hamza Yusuf spent four years studying in the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere in the Middle East. Later he traveled to West Africa and studied in Mauritania, Medina, Algeria, and Morocco under such scholars as Murabit al Haaj; Baya bin Salik, head of the Islamic court in Al-'Ain, United Arab Emirates; Muhammad Shaybani, Mufti of Abu Dhabi; Hamad al-Wali; and Muhammad al-Fatrati of Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.^{[citation needed]} After more than a decade abroad, he returned to the United States and earned degrees in nursing from Imperial Valley College and religious studies at San José State University.^{[citation needed]}